[Read 1 Peter 1:1-2]
I remember the first time I tasted a little crumb of what it feels like to be an “exile.” I was on a seminary trip touring Turkey and Greece. We had spent an entire day flying from Chicago to our destination in Turkey. We crashed when we finally arrived at the hotel. The next morning I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat out on the balcony of our hotel room to soak in the cool morning air. Right as I was beginning to relax, the Islamic call to morning prayer rang out over loud speakers. It penetrated every square inch of the city. As the Arabic chant continued, I felt a deep awareness that I was NOT home. I was in a land that I didn’t not know, surrounded by people I did not know.
This letter was written to address a group of people feeling that same thing, only multiplied one hundred fold. The Apostle Peter is writing to a group of churches spread out throughout Eurasia. Peter addresses these churches in a unique way. He calls the people in these congregations “exiles,” which helps us understand the focus of this letter. The entire letter is talking about what it looks like to live as Christians in exile.
Take a moment to think about what it felt like for God’s people to live in exile. They were uprooted from their homes, hauled off into a foreign land, and stuck there. Their typical patterns of living were gone. Nothing was normal anymore. The people were different, the customs were different, the daily practices were different. They were also separated from the temple—their main place of worship. They were no longer able to worship God in the way they were used to worshiping him. Their typical patterns of temple sacrifice and prayer were gone. They were surrounded by people who didn’t believe the things they believed. They felt alone and isolated—even when they were surrounded by people.
Right now, I think many of us are beginning to experience a sense of exile in a unique way. Because of the spread of the Coronavirus, many of the “normals” of our life have changed. We haven’t been uprooted from our homes, but we’ve been separated from friends and family. We are not able to do things like we are used to doing them. The world around us seems—in some weird way—to be different than it was before. We have also been separated from our church buildings and fellow believers. We are not worshiping the way we are used to worshiping. Our weeks are starting to blur together because they’ve lost their normal rhythm of going to church on Sunday mornings. Many are struggling with feelings of loneliness and isolation.
In some ways, this period of quarantine has only amplified what was already true. Christians have always seen themselves as exiles in this world. Yes, we are able to attend worship on Sunday mornings and gather with God’s people. We have freedom to live out our faith. Yet, when we begin to look at the world around us, we quickly notice that we are surrounded by people who are not Christians. We are surrounded by people who do not worship the Triune God. We’re surrounded by people who do not see the world the way we do nor believe the things we believe. As Christians, living out our faith in the world, we can easily feel alone and isolated because there are so many who are not like us. We are a people in exile.
Yet, Peter gives us an important adjective along with the word “exile.” We are not just “exiles,” but he says “To those who are elect exiles…” (1 Peter 1:1, ESV). That’s a powerful thing for us to remember in the midst of whatever situation we find ourselves in. We are not just a people scattered throughout the world, living out our lives in the midst of non-believers. Right now, as we are stuck in our homes, we are not just “Quarantined People.” We are Elect Exiles. We are Elect Quarantined. We are God’s chosen people. We are the people that Jesus Christ won through his life, death, and resurrection. We are the people that he purchased with his own blood. We have been adopted into God’s family.
This is an important reminder because exile causes disruption. It takes all of the normalcy of our lives and throws it out the window. We are forced to begin creating new normals and new ways of living. And that causes anxiety to rise up within us. It makes us uneasy. Often, we will also be tempted to wonder if God has rejected us. Why is God allowing this to happen?
Not only that, but because our typical patterns of worship have been disrupted, we can begin to feel like God is further away from us. We are not experiencing the worship of God in the way we normally do. It’s different. It doesn’t feel the same. So, we begin to think God has pulled away. Why is God so far from me?
Yet, scripture repeatedly speaks to God’s people in the midst of their exile and says, “God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.” (Romans 11:2, ESV). God has not rejected the people that he chose before the foundations of the earth. God has not rejected the people that he sent his Son to save. God has not rejected the people that he purchased with his own blood. God has not rejected the people that he adopted into his family. We are not just exiles in this world. We are not just a quarantined people. We are Elect Exiles. We are Elect Quarantined. And our God has not rejected us. Our God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
It makes sense when you begin to think about it. As Peter begins to dive deeper into the passage, he shows us that the name Elect Exile has been given to us by the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each member of the Trinity plays a role in our election—in caring for us in the midst of our exile.
He starts off by saying, “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…” (1 Peter 1:2, ESV). We can be called Elect Exiles because of the Father’s foreknowledge. He knew us before we were born. He knew us before he created the earth. In Ephesians it says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world…” (Ephesians 1:3–4, ESV). That’s a powerful reminder. Before God created the heavens and the earth, he chose you as his child. He knew all of the terrible things you would do, all the sins you would commit, but he chose you as his child anyway. He chose to wash your sins clean through Jesus Christ and adopt you into his family because he loved you. And he did all of this BEFORE he even created the world.
So, why would he leave you now? Think about it. Why would the Father leave you now, after having chosen you to be part of his family before creating the earth? It doesn’t make any sense. God loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you like an everlasting Father. He’s not going anywhere. He will continue to walk with you, and care for you, and strengthen you, and provide for you, in the midst of every trial and season of suffering you encounter. It doesn’t matter if it FEELS like God is far away. He’s not. He’s right there with you in the midst of this and He will carry you through to the end.
Peter also talks about the role of the Holy Spirit. He says, “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit…” (1 Peter 1:2, ESV). The word “sanctification” is just another word for “holiness” or “to make holy.” Another way to define the word “holy” is to think about something that is “set apart.” It has been set aside from everything else to be used for a particular purpose. It’s not just “set apart” for another use, but it is also “purified” for that use. As Elect Exiles, God’s chosen people, the Holy Spirit works in our life to purify us from sin—both past, present, and future—and works to set us apart from the rest of the world. As the Spirit works in our lives, our lives begin to change. Our lives look different from those around us. We are set apart. But the Holy Spirit doesn’t just set us apart in a general way. As he changes our lives we become more like Jesus Christ. That’s why we’re set apart from the rest of the world.
That’s also why Peter mentions the Son—Jesus Christ. He says, “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood…” (1 Peter 1:2, ESV). Yes, the Christian is someone whose sins have been forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. When they turn to Jesus Christ in faith and trust for the forgiveness of their sins, they are completely cleansed of all their sin. But, part of putting faith and trust in Jesus is repentance. Putting our faith in Jesus means turning toward Jesus. And, in order for us to turn toward Jesus, we have to turn away from all the sin in our lives—that’s repentance. When we put our faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we are also saying to Jesus, “I want to follow you. I want to obey you. I want to do the things you want me to do.”
These are all important reminders for us in the midst of our exile. We are Elect Exiles. Yes, we rest in our election and trust our Father in the midst of our exile. We trust that the one who chose us before the foundations of the earth will never leave us nor forsake us. But, the fact that we are Elect Exiles ALSO means that we are called to live as God’s people in the midst of exile. We are called to follow Jesus and obey him in the midst of exile. We are called to live holy and pure lives in the power of the Holy Spirit.
It is always difficult for us to live our the Christian life, but it’s even harder in the midst of exile. Everything becomes more difficult in the midst of exile because everything is different. And, because everything is different, we get worn down and exhausted. When we’re worn down and exhausted, we easily fall into temptation.
We all know this from personal experience. Think about the last time you were trying to lose weight. You were being very careful about what you ate and how much you ate. You were doing good for a few weeks. But then you had a bad day at work. You come home from work frustrated, exhausted, and worn out. How hard is it in that moment to stick to your diet? I’m guessing that every one of us had fallen into temptation in that moment. When we’re frustrated, weak, and worn out we easily fall into temptation.
That same struggle is present with all of us right now in our current situation. Everything has changed. I’m guessing that many of you are more exhausted than you normally are and you’re not sure why. It doesn’t seem like you’re doing as much as you normally did. Some of you are doing way more than you normally do. Either way, you’re exhausted, worn out, sick-and-tired of being stuck in your home, not being able to do the things you want to do. Seasons like this are ripe for us to fall into temptation—to fall into moral failure. Some will be tempted to start drinking again. Some will be tempted to regularly skip their morning quiet times with God. Some will be tempted to fall into a pattern of anger and bitterness.
Yet, in the midst of these temptations, we need to remember that we are Elect Exiles—Elect Quarantined. Even though we are tired and worn out, we are still God’s people. He has not left us nor forsaken us. He is with us to help us through to the end. He also expects us to keep following him even when the path is hard. He expects us to keep running the race, even when our muscles hurt. He expects us to continue exhibiting the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We will fall and mess up. That’s when we look to God, ask him for forgiveness, then ask him for strength to keep on following him in the midst of this situation. Just because things are difficult, doesn’t mean that we are no longer followers of Jesus. Keep looking to Him and trusting Him and following Him.
When we do that, Peter’s greeting will come true in our lives: “May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” (1 Peter 1:2, ESV). When we keep our eyes on Jesus in the midst of this difficult time, grace and peace will be multiplied to us. When we feel like we are too weak to go on—to continue for another day in this quarantine—we are reminded: “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10, ESV). When we feel ourselves filled with anxiety and fear because everything is changing and we don’t know what the future will hold, we are reminded by Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27, ESV).
We are Elect Exiles—the Elect Quarantined. So, let us keep our eyes on our Father, trusting in the power of the Spirit, and obeying the Son. Let us live each day, trusting that the Triune God will multiply grace and peace in our lives, even in the midst of our current exile.